The Faculty of Applied Sciences is the largest faculty of TU Delft, with around 550 scientists, a support staff of 250 and 1,800 students. The faculty conducts fundamental, application-oriented research and offers scientific education at the bachelor, master and doctoral levels. The faculty is active in the fields of Life and Health Science & Technology, Nanoscience, Chemical Engineering, Radiation Science & Technology, and Applied Physics.

Our Mission is to generate knowledge and educate people in the area of nano chemical engineering to improve the quality of life for a sustainable society, focusing on energy, water, health and environment.

The Optoelectronic Materials section is part of the Department of Chemical Engineering. Our key interest is studying the nature and dynamics of excited states and charge carriers in semiconductor quantum dots, nanorods and two-dimensional materials

Job description

The project focuses on ultrathin 2D layered metal-chalcogenide semiconductors that are of interest for development of highly efficient ultrathin solar cells.

At TU Delft you will carry out pump-probe laser spectroscopy on exciton and charge carrier dynamics in 2D nanosheets consisting of a metal such as Mo, W, Sn, Zr, or Hf and a chalcogenide S, Se or Te. You will collaborate with a postdoc synthesizing materials, and a PhD student developing photovoltaic devices at the University of Amsterdam (groups of profs. Gregorkiewicz and Schall) and Toyota Motor Europe (Brussels).

You will study the formation, mobility and decay kinetics of excitons and charge carriers with femtosecond and nanosecond pump-probe laser techniques with optical and terahertz/microwave conductivity detection. Materials to be investigated include layers of a single material, bilayers with one material accepting electrons (n-type layer) and the other holes (p-type layer), and multiple layers for a tandem solar cell. Dielectric constants, band gap, and effective masses of electrons and holes will be varied by material composition. Particular attention will be paid to production of two or more electron-hole pairs for the absorption of a single photon via a process known as carrier multiplication. The latter can significantly enhance the efficiency of a solar cell.

Requirements

Candidates must have a university (MSc) degree in physics, chemistry or a related area, and ideally have experience with time-resolved spectroscopy.

Conditions of employment

TU Delft offers a customisable compensation package, a discount for health insurance and sport memberships, and a monthly work costs contribution. Flexible work schedules can be arranged. An International Children’s Centre offers childcare and an international primary school. Dual Career Services offers support to accompanying partners. Salary and benefits are in accordance with the Collective Labour Agreement for Dutch Universities.

As a PhD candidate you will be enrolled in the TU Delft Graduate School. TU Delft Graduate School provides an inspiring research environment; an excellent team of supervisors, academic staff and a mentor; and a Doctoral Education Programme aimed at developing your transferable, discipline-related and research skills. Please visit www.tudelft.nl/phd for more information.

Information and application

For more information about this position, please contact Prof.dr. L.D.A. Siebbeles, phone: +31 (0)15-2781800, e-mail: L.D.A.Siebbeles@tudelft.nl. To apply, please send a letter of motivation, CV, a list of courses followed and marks obtained, and letters of recommendation or names of references to Prof.dr. L.D.A. Siebbeles, L.D.A.Siebbeles@tudelft.nl. When applying for this position, please refer to vacancy number TNWCE18-009.